Retro Sunday: Norway 1986

In a weekend of Norwegian finals, why not bring out one of our own heroes from the 80s?

O Romeo Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Well, we certainly don’t know the answer to that, and we bet Ketil Stokkan didn’t either when he entered the great Eurovision stage in his own home country back in 1986. But man, were we happy Ketil was Ketil, and not some Leonardo Di Caprio or anything. We still adore that fabulous pink jacket with rolled up sleeves to be adored by any hipster girl in Norway these days and the oh, so authentic hairdo. The Gods should know he will always become a Romeo in that.

Jumping after Bobbysocks wouldn’t have been the easiest job on the planet, but Ketil found his own way of jumping. We still stand in line, bend our knees, lift our arm and jump suprinsingly forward when this song is played. Luckily that’s not so often, but it’s worth looking back on every now and then.

Take a look, and also please notice the fabulous Great Garlic Girls, who were the first Eurovision participants in drag. And we all know how popular that became. Now, who said the Norwegians aren’t trendsetters?

This site is written by Guri Idsø Viken and Astrid Foldal from Norway. We are both communications professionals and writers and have shared our passion for Eurovision for years. We both grew up in the beautiful middle of nowhere, and as kids, the annual Eurovision final was their only share ... Continue reading →